CHAPTER 3

Tending house or tent for Captain Manoso was easy as she could have ever imagined. She made his bed, emptied his chamber pot, tidied and gathered his dirty laundry. A small fire was kept burning, with a large pot of water always heating for cleaning chores. She found a wooden washboard and a small vat of lye soap at the back of her tent where her cleaning supplies were stored and got to work starting the captain's laundry. While his shirts, nightshifts and undergarments boiled away on the fire, Stephanie went from tent to tent in the officer area collecting up their dirty laundry as well.

Buckets were left in neat rows containing stained clothing soaking in different solutions to get the damned spots out. Seph spent the better part of the afternoon scrubbing and beating the dirt right out of the clothing. She hung everything on roped tied between trees and over sturdy bushes, allowing the clothing to dry in the warm sun.

As she finished wringing the water out of the last pair of stockings, she arranged them onto a nearby bush to dry, a soldier approached to collect her for preparing supper. This time, she was allotted twenty men and more than half of them were repeats from the morning meal preparations.

Soon men were divided into teams to tend the fires, peel and chop onions and potatoes, butcher the four deer that had been brought to the cook tent early that afternoon as well as fetching water and firewood. Her direction kept the men in a cohesive group, all working toward a common goal. Venison Stew was on the menu for the night, and she planned on making sure each man was well fed and happy. Soon all the cauldrons were happily bubbling away, leaving all but a few men idle.

Unable to help herself, Steph directed the idle men to collect acorns from the nearby forest while others cracked the shells and extracted the nutmeat from inside. She spread the meat out onto frying pans set near the fires to dry them. She had, in the past, made acorn flour and used it to supplement the wheat and rye flours in baking bread and making griddlecakes. That little trick would come in handy in feeding the men.

Soon shelled acorns were spread around fires drying while Steph worked to fry up venison steaks, squash fritters and light fluffy biscuits for the officers. She refilled the bowl of honey from the cask, after refilling the butter dish from the crock stored in a hole dug into the ground to keep it fresh and cool. Once the biscuits were finished, she piled them into a cloth lined basket she typically used for laundry and headed for the officer's dining room with men carrying platters behind her.

Serving the seated men, Stephanie was greeted with smiles and hungry looks. "Good evening, Mistress Plum." Lt. Blinde said, garnering a sweet smile upon her face. "Good evening, gentlemen. I have venison steaks, squash fritters and fresh baked biscuits for you tonight. I hope you enjoy." She watched as they dug into their food, ravenous from their day of toiling away on the construction of the new fort.

Halfway inside the last of the massive dirty cauldrons, quietly scrubbing away a blob of burnt on stew, Stephanie heard a couple of the men speaking in low voices. "Are you sure no one suspects?" A young man asked in a hushed whisper, nervousness clear as a bell in his voice.

"There's no way anyone can tell what happening, least of all the captain. We'll have enough stuff squirreled away soon to make it out of here and head back to Georgia. I'm done with this damned place." The second more grizzled voice sounded familiar to her, maybe one of the men from KP duty?

"How much longer?"

"I'd say less than a week. I hid our stuff in the woods. I'll let you know when to have the horses saddled and ready to leave. We'll need to be as quick as we can."

"Are you really going to poison the captain? I mean, he hasn't been all that bad." The younger man seemed unsure and scared of the plan. "And won't that get Mistress Plum in trouble?"

"I don't care if it points to Washington himself. I'm getting that poison into his food one way or another. But it's gotta be the night we plan to leave so they're more concerned with the captain than us." The older man chuckled, "Though, too bad I can't get myself a taste of a ripe juicy Plum before we leave. She looks like she'd be a whole heap of fun." His laughter raised the hair on the back of her neck, she knew she needed to tell the captain about this, but first she needed to know who the men were in order to point them out.

Slipping inside the cauldron, she peeked around the rim, quickly sighting the men she had overheard walking away. Thankfully there was enough moonlight to see who they were. Simon Diggery and his little imp Lonny Todd. Waiting a good ten minutes, Stephanie climbed out of the cauldron and stumbled over the rough ground headed straight for the captain's tent.

Stephanie came to a halt, just outside the tent, gasping for breath, her chest heaving in the effort to draw in adequate air. She swooned for a moment before strong arms wrapped around her, leading her to a chair inside. "Stephanie, are you alright? Is something wrong?" The captain was beside himself, unsure as to what was wrong with her.

"Warn you... poison... deserters..." Her breathing finally began to even out, her face flushed from the long run across the entire camp. "Two men..." She grasped the glass of water he held out for her, sipping it, allowing the cooling liquid to soothe her parched throat. Clearing her throat, she managed to explain quickly, "Two men are planning to commit desertion in the next week but not before poisoning you beforehand to cover their escape."

"Are you sure?"

"I heard them with my own two ears, Captain. They were less than the distance between your tent and mine. They have some hoarded stores hidden in the woods outside camp and they'll be escaping with a pair of horses, I'm sure of it." Stephanie pleaded with the captain, "Please, you need to stay safe. I don't want you to blame me if you get sick after eating anything I have cooked. They sounded serious, what are you going to do?"

"Did you see these men? Can you identify them?" He demanded, grasping her by her shoulders, his fingers digging in. Once he realized what he was doing, the captain released her and smoothed down the sleeves of her dress. "I apologize for that. But can you identify the men?"

"Yes. I was able to see who they were. I had their assistance this morning at breakfast. Simon Diggery and Lonny Todd. Private Diggery was the one who stated he was going to poison you. Private Todd sounded hesitant at the entire plan but was going along with it because Diggery was in charge. I think Diggery is the mastermind between the two of them."

Spinning away from her, he frowned as he spoke his thoughts aloud, "I'll have them rounded up immediately. This can not go unpunished." He turned back to Steph, a look of pride on his face. "Nothing could ever be enough to thank you for what you discovered. Not only are you preventing a desertion, but you very likely saved my life. I am forever in your debt, Mistress Stephanie." He sank to his knees, gathering her hands into his, lightly brushing his lips across them, his eyes shining with gratitude.

"I... I was worried about what they might do to you. I..." unable to think straight, stammering, Stephanie was at a loss at what to say.

"I will remember this for the rest of my life. I swear. I owe you a life debt." A final hard press of his lips against her hands before his forehead touched the same place his lips had just been. She could hear him saying an indistinguishable mumbled prayer as he held still.

Once his prayer was finished, he rose to his feet, his entire demeanor changed to one of vengeful justice. The captain was in fine form this night, a warrior ready for battle. He nodded to her before striding out of the tent leaving her to her thoughts.

A few days later Stephanie walked past the hastily erected brig holding cells, located just outside the officer's living area where guards were standing sentry over the prisoners until the gallows could be completed. A prickle of fear shivered its way down her spine at the memory of the two accused men being dragged to stand trial for their crimes. Lt. Blinde had searched Private Diggery's tent to find a vial of cyanide powder cleverly hidden in between the layers of his bedroll. Private Todd's sack with stolen food, clothing and money was eventually found hidden in a rotted log just inside the forest.

Each man denied the attempted desertion and planned poisoning of the captain. Neither was very convincing after several of the other men in their squad were questioned about the prisoner's behavior leading up to the previous night. In fact, several of the men confessed that they had overheard the two men planning their escape and had not reported it to their superiors. Those three men were docked a week's wage and given latrine duty for an entire month.

The two prisoners, Diggery and Todd were found guilty of attempted desertion, attempted murder of a superior officer, as well as several other crimes against the Army. It was decided that Diggery would be hanged for his crimes, while Todd would serve six months in prison, forfeiture of his pay for 12 months and be required to work in shackles alongside the other men building the fort while under armed guard. Diggery would be hanged as soon as the gallows could be built.

Cal and his brother Hal were helping the men under their command finish the last bit of construction on the gallows platform. One of their men was busy sitting in the shade of the platform, plaiting the rope for the hangman's noose. It was a grim sight for Stephanie who had never seen any of this in person before. Her parents had ensured she would not be exposed to such brutality while they raised her. She had led a sheltered life, away from most crime and punishment metered out by the constabulary forces in their township.

Supper that night was a somber affair with the entire camp thinking about the impending hanging in the morning. Even the Captain was more quiet than usual, and he was exceedingly quiet as it was. The men ate their beans and pork without complaint, finishing in record time before the camp settled in for the night. Stephanie could hear Todd crying in his cell, mourning the impending loss of his friend and co-conspirator, while Diggery repeatedly demanded that he shut up. Sleep didn't come for Stephanie that night, as it had been for many others in camp as well.

She refused to attend the hanging, opting to stay by the cook tent tending to the fires as the morning's porridge boiled in the cauldrons. Having a moment to herself, Stephanie continued to grind the dried acorns into a gritty flour using a handheld coffee mill. It was tedious work but would be worth the effort when she could hand out loaves of the nutty acorn bread at supper later in the week. She dumped the latest batch into the nearly full barrel with the other ground acorn flour to steep the tannins out of the flour before they could use it in baking. She sat back, mill between her legs as she ground the last of the acorns, wondering what the day would have in store for her.

She could hear the rolling of the snare drum, indicating that they were waiting for the signal to release the trap door on the gallows, where Diggery would hang to death. The moment the air stilled, and the drum ceased to roll, a tear rolled down her face in deference to the life lost at that moment.

After the breakfast pots and pans had been dealt with, Stephanie took some time for herself before starting her housekeeping chores. She wandered up to the new fort site, observing the men diligently at work erecting the second wall of the fort. The captain and his second in command Lt. Blinde were sitting astride their horses, watching the men's progress on the protective walls. A movement in the corner of his eye made the captain turn his head ever so slightly to see mistress Stephanie watching them all from the edge of the woods.

He swiftly dismounted, handing the reins to the Lt. "I'll meet you back in my office mid-day about plans for next week." Lt Blinde nodded silently and rode off, leading the captain's horse back to camp.

Watching Captain Manoso removing his riding gloves, was an experience in of itself. His long, strong, capable fingers slid sensually from the soft leather gloves; his nails neatly trimmed. She found swallowing the lump in the back of her throat difficult, but necessary if she were to speak with the enchanting man.

He sauntered over to where she sat in the cool grass, stopping only when he stood directly in front of her. "Good day Mistress Stephanie. Would you be up for a short stroll? I have a few things I'd like to speak to you about, if that is agreeable?"

"Why yes. I'd love to." She accepted his assistance in rising to her feet, before placing her hand on the inside of his crooked arm. Leading her around obstacles, the two enjoyed the nearly mid-day sun, chatting about the menu plans for the upcoming week before he dropped impactful news into her lap.

"I wanted to give you enough prior notice to be able to plan for our very important guests arriving in two weeks' time. We have until September 8th to prepare. General Washington and his entourage will be visiting overnight on his way back South. He's checking the progress on the construction of the fort. Thankfully, we're ahead of schedule." He stopped to casually brush a fallen leaf from her hair, stilling her breath. "We will need to host a ball, inviting those of high social standing in Trenton to attend. I will try to accommodate as many of your plans as I can, but we must begin planning now."

She sucked air deep into her lungs as what he said filtered into her brain. She knew she must run to town before supper preparations in order to enlist the assistance of a few friends who would be invaluable in ensuring everything went to plan. "I'll have plans to run by you by the end of supper tonight." She felt flustered, hands flapping as she began to talk aloud, "We'll need a stage for a band. An area cleared for a dance floor. Oh! We'll need a band. And lots of food and drink." Spinning back to the captain, she frowned, "How many people are we expecting?"

"I'd say somewhere near one hundred possibly one hundred twenty at the most. The General has stores of wine and ale that he will likely provide as a courtesy."

"I'll need to have the ladies in town as well as the town baker provide desserts, while we provide canapes. I'll need to announce to a few of the highest standing society ladies about the ball, it should give them adequate time to find the perfect dress for the ball." She squinted her eyes as she looked through the trees at the camp from the top of the hill where they were walking.

A gentle tug on her elbow, stilled her feet, causing her to turn to the captain. "I..." He hesitated a moment before giving a deep sigh for courage and plowed on. "If I may, I would be honored if you would allow me to escort you to the ball, Mistress Stephanie."

A dark blush stained her cheeks, causing his heart to go pitter patter. Her beautiful blue eyes fell to where their hands had become twined together in front of them. "Are you sure, it's proper for you to escort me to the ball, Sir? It's not improper?"

"I am more than sure it is perfectly acceptable. And besides, to hell what anyone else thinks. I'd be delighted if you would walk into the ball on my arm." His crooked finger nudged her chin upward, forcing her eyes to meet his. Her heart thundered in her chest, sure that it would fly right out, never to be seen again.

"I... accept, Captain." She melted at sight of his 1000 candle-power smile. It did things to her insides that made her quiver. "May we head back to camp? I think I need to call on a few ladies before my supper preparations tonight."

"Let me walk you back to your tent."

Life in camp became frantic for the next fourteen days between her preparations for their visitors and daydreaming about the captain at her every spare moment. With the help of a contingent of soldiers dedicated to carrying out her specific orders, plans for the visit and Ball began to take shape. The town carpenters and lumbermen banded together to collect the wood necessary to construct a raised platform for the stage as well as large lower wooden platform for a dance floor. Lanterns were strung along ropes zig zagged above the dancefloor. A large area was designated for tables to be laden with foods of all kinds, desserts, drinks and even a small fire where one of her men would be stationed making fresh popcorn throughout the night.

On a trip to the far side of the township to find supplies for the normal food stuffs, Stephanie spied an absolutely beautiful dress hanging in the window of a seamstress' shop. It drew her in, despite the men's protests. The gorgeous robin's egg blue silk gown edged in cream lace, was positively a dream in Stephanie's eyes. Over a contracting cream-colored petticoat, the front closing robe, flared over the hips in wide gathers, giving the wearer the impression of an impossibly narrow waist. The fluttery cap sleeves allowed the arms full range of motion, necessary for dancing. The delicate lace edged neckline, dipped far enough into the décolletage to display the swell of the breasts but demure enough to be tasteful.

Stephanie was in love. But the moment she read the little card stating the price, her heart fell. It was too expensive. She would have to save all her wages for over a month to be able to afford the dress. The seamstress wanted a king's ransom for the frock at $14, surely it was worth the price, but she could not afford it. Crestfallen, she trudged back to the wagon to make their way back to camp with their foodstuffs.

The night before the arrival of General Washington, Captain Manoso was finally able to track down Mistress Stephanie in the cook tent after supper. She was busy striking completed tasks off her To-Do list, her thumbnail firmly held between her teeth as she focused on her task.

"Mistress Stephanie, may I have a word?" Captain Manoso had been a busy man himself these last two weeks. The camp was whipped into shape, all his men had even busied themselves washing their uniforms, taking to wearing their spare clothes in the days prior to the visit. The new fort site had progressed far enough that Captain Manoso shut down work for two days to focus on preparing for the General's visit. Now that everything was ready, he just needed a few moments with Mistress Plum.

"Yes, Captain?" With her thumb removed from between her plump lips, she proceeded to bite the lower lip in a nervous habit.

"I have a gift for you. I surely hope you like it." His brown eyes sparkled in delight as she trained her blue eyes on his hands. The large paper wrapped parcel he carried was carefully laid in her lap, an indulgent smile graced his perfect face. Heart beating like a hummingbird, Steph slowly tugged the ends of the twine, loosening the bow. Once removed, she carefully pulled back the paper and revealed the surprise inside.

Her dress!

The dress she had seen in the seamstress' window in town. It was in her hands. But how? Why? "But... Captain... how?"

"A little bird told me you fancied this particular dress and after hearing about it, I just couldn't say no. It will look absolutely stunning on you." He felt like his heart would burst out of his chest at the surprise and happiness on her face. He was smitten with her, of course. But, unable to show it in any other way, he figured this would be a small token of his affection.

Her face fell the moment she realized he had to have paid that exorbitant amount for the dress. She couldn't accept such an expensive gift. It wasn't right. Despite how much she absolutely loved the dress, she couldn't accept it in good conscience.

"I... I'm sorry Captain, but I can't accept this. It's too much." She tried to rewrap the bundle, but stilled when his hands gently stopped her motions. Her refusal to look him in the eyes, gave him the courage to ever so gently run his thumb across the top of her hand and back again with a hypnotic touch. Her eyes closed of their own volition, her soul memorizing the feeling of his hands, his touch. His spicy cologne invaded her nose, causing a warmth to bloom in her chest.

"I want you to keep it. Please. Stephanie?" He leaned closer, she could feel his breath washing over their hands.

Her eyes fluttered open, before she looked up to find their faces almost touching, their breaths co-mingling. "I..." Her words tapered off as her gaze flicked to his sinfully kissable lips.

Captain Manoso, unable to stop himself leaned forward just enough where his lips ghosted a kiss over Stephanie's, nearly causing his head to explode in elation. The mere brush of his lips across hers, set her off, tilting forward to apply her own pressure to his lips. Her hands left the forgotten paper wrapped bundle to wrap themselves around the captain's neck, fingers wrapping into his ponytail, holding him close.

Stars flew behind her eyes. In a moment of clarity, she lightly nipped his bottom lip, the mischief making her giggle. Seizing his moment of opportunity, his tongue snaked out between her parted lips to tangle with hers. A low, sensual moan sounded in the back of his throat at the taste of her, causing her whole body to flush. Sparks tripped along her spine all the way up into her head. This was absolute heaven as far as she was concerned.

slowly pulling back from the kiss, the captain's hands gently caressed the back of her neck, savoring the feel of her petal soft skin. "I can't hold my feelings back any longer. I am besotted with you. You bedevil my every thought, woman."

"Captain? Are you mad?" Though she felt the very same way about him. Mad like a loon. She had never had a man declare his feelings for her other than pure lechery.

"Mad for you, Darling." Soft lips brushed against hers, warming her all over again.

"But what about my position as your housekeeper? We can't continue this between us, if we are to be within Army regulations." She lamented, scared that she might be forced to forfeit her position as his housekeeper if they were to be found in a compromising position.

"Quit." He stated, nuzzling into the crook of her neck, making her nearly go cross-eyed. "I have no need for a housekeeper if I have a wife." Stephanie froze. Wife? Did he have a betrothed? Someone he was intended for.

Shoving her hands between them, she pushed to separate their bodies as she reeled from that new information. "Wife?" Her voice taking on a shrill tone, clearly upset. "You're betrothed?"

"No, Darling." He gathered her back into his strong arms, hugging her close to him with a light chuckle. "I want to marry you."

"Goodness! Are you serious?" She stammered, her heart fluttering wildly. "You truly want to marry me?"

"I do, my Darling. I love you. Will you marry me?" His words burst the dam that held back her tears. She sobbed, dropping her head onto his chest, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Are you alright? Did my declaration and proposal upset you?" He was unsure and fearful that his heart was about to be broken.

"You want to marry me." She wailed, hugging him close. Her head was going a mile a minute, relief that she wouldn't live the rest of her life as a spinster, nor at the beck and call of her mother. She would have a loving husband who adored her and would take care in how he loved her for the rest of his life. She was elated, and completely overcome with happy tears.

"Yes, Darling, I think we established that. I love you. Do you... not love me?" Hesitation in his voice, startled her out of her tears.

Like a mad woman, she rained kisses down upon his lips, his cheeks, his nose and even his chin. "I love you. I love you. I love you." She cradled his handsome face in her tiny hands, forcing his gaze to meet hers. "Yes, I will marry you. I love you."

The crash of their lips together was bruising, and tongues twisted as they enjoyed their moment of bliss. The captain... no, Carlos, Carlos nearly squeezed the air right out of her chest with his tight embrace. It made her giddy and lightheaded, as did his masterful kisses. Carlos was lost in the moment, lost to his feelings for his lovely wife-to-be. They would be married after the General's visit, allowing her ample time to plan the wedding of her dreams.

"As much as I want to spend the remainder of the evening in your arms, I think it best if we retired to our tents for the night. We do have an extraordinarily long day planned for tomorrow." His head tilted down to look at her beautiful face, shining in happiness. "I love you, my Darling. Allow me to escort you back to your tent. I shall see you in the morning." A final quick meeting of their lips sealed their evening.